Fifteenth Annual Report. 548 
LIBRARIES. 
The libraries remain on the same footing as hitherto, and appear to be 
greatly appreciated. But, as in all other parts of the Museum, the want of 
sufficient space creates great inconvenience to the public. 
New Zealand Institute Library.—There have been 275 volumes received 
this year, chiefly in exchange for the Transactions of the New Zealand 
Institute and the publications of the Museum and Geological Survey. 
Public Library.—The number of persons using this library is steadily 
‘ increasing. Twelve more, out of the large number of volumes missing when 
the library was removed to the Museum, have been recovered by the 
Librarian. 
Patent Library.—It would seem that the vast amount of information 
contained in this library is becoming more generally known, as the number 
of persons referring to the volumes is much larger than last year. Twenty- 
one volumes have been added since last report. 
METEOROLOGY. 
The meteorological observations now taken for statistical purposes are 
limited to stations at Auckland, Wellington, Lincoln, and Dunedin, but 
observations of rainfall, temperature, and wind-direction are received from 
the following third-class stations, twenty in number, viz., at Petone, 
Makara, Upper Hutt, Summit Station, Wellington, Masterton, Feilding, 
New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Christchurch, Puysegur 
Point, Cape Campbell, Oamaru, Timaru, The Brothers, Farewell Spit, Lee- 
field, Marlborough, Brighton, Otago, Taupo, and Invercargill. The results 
are published in most cases every month either in the Gazette or in the local 
newspapers, and are collected into the annual volume of the statistics 
of the colony published by the Registrar-General. 
The system of intercolonial weather exchange has now been in opera- 
tion for two years, and the expense has proved to be much under the 
estimate formed at the Conference. The diagram of the weather for each 
day over the south part of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand is pub- 
lished the same afternoon in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Hobart, and 
by a system of numbered blocks, which have been supplied by this depart- 
ment, a diagram of the weather of each day is published in the morning 
newspapers in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and the 
information without diagrams is published by most of the other papers in 
the colony, being distributed by the Press Agency. The local weather 
warnings for the benefit of the shipping round the coast continue to be 
supplied as heretofore by Captain Edwin, R.N., and are very generally 
appreciated, , 
